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Five-star 2015 power forward trims list to three

henry ellenson

(Nike)

During this spring/summer power forward Henry Ellenson cemented his status as one of the top players in the Class of 2015, performing well on the grassroots/individual skills camp circuits while also winning a gold medal with the United States U17 team at the FIBA U17 World Championships. Given those accomplishments, along with his junior season at Rice Lake HS in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, it’s understandable that many high-major programs have offered him.

Wednesday night it was reported by multiple outlets that Ellenson has narrowed his list to three schools: Kentucky, Marquette and Michigan State.
RELATED: Henry Ellenson’s junior season mixtape | CBT’s July Evaluation Period Coverage

As a junior Ellenson averaged 27.5 points and 13.1 rebounds per contest, and despite being 6-foot-10 one of his stated goals this summer while at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas was to become a more versatile player.

“Being a ‘mismatch’ guy who can take a big man out on the wing and go by him, or take a smaller guy into the post. A guy who just really picks his spots on offense,” Ellenson said in July.

Something to keep in mind regarding the final three schools on Ellenson’s list is the fact that his older brother Wally transferred to Marquette in the spring. Wally was a member of both the basketball and track programs at Minnesota but he played sparingly, something that is likely to change under Steve Wojciechowski when he becomes eligible to play in 2015-16.

As for whether or not Wally’s transferring to Marquette will affect his final decision, Henry said the following last month:

“It’s a bonus, but overall I’m going to make the decision that’s best for me. [Wally’s transferring to Marquette] is just another positive for that school.”

Kentucky’s recruiting accomplishments under John Calipari have been highly impressive, and Tom Izzo’s work at Michigan State isn’t to be overlooked either. But the recruitment of Henry Ellenson provides Steve Wojciechowski with an opportunity to make a major splash in his first year as a Division I head coach.

Follow @raphiellej